Surfside Beach Vacation - Day 7 Heading Home

 Oh  man --- our last day has arrived.  I'm really bummed as this has been such an amazing week together.  My sweetheart is super relaxed and that is wonderful to see.  Rising early again, we break down the bedroom before hitting the beach for our last sunrise walk.  Here's to hoping she doesn't disappoint.  First color shows up AND a little crab stops to say hi as well.  It's a great beginning to our ending.  It's REALLY dark this morning and as the color starts, it almost looks ominous.  Follow along with our walk down the beach and the color changes we enjoy.

Here comes the blue finally - 

And followed by the inevitable lightening - pre-rse.

Yay!!! No lower clouds today and she is rising so beautifully.  My heart is just so happy.

Trying some tricks on the camera to get the definition of the sun.

And with this last burst, the work begins.  This view WILL be sincerely  missed tomorrow morning.

Packing up, loading the car, and cleaning the apartment takes less than two hours and we are on our way.   Once we are past Lake Jackson, we opt for a back road route for part of the journey.  We don't have any need to be home at any particular time and can just wander as long as we like.  

On one of the back roads, cotton fields are being harvested and the gin in Fairchild is running full speed.  Nearby, the rolls are laying out, ready for transport.  I see future quilts here.

We did drive by the gin but got a lot of questioning looks so turned around and left.

Just down the road we spot a church off to the side of the road and decide to check it out.  This is the Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Wallis, TX.  "This congregation was organized in 1892 by several Czech families who had relocated from Fayette County, TX, to an area about 3 miles southeast of Wallis, TX.  The congregation held services in the Krasna school building which was located on four acres donated by Francis V. Smid in 1892.  At the suggestion of the Bishop of the Diocese of Galveston, church members erected a sanctuary in 1899 at a site closer to the railroad at Wallis.  The congregation held their first services on Easter Sunday and named their church 'Guardian Angel'.  The church building was destroyed in the storm of 1900, but rebuilt in 1904 after a determined effort by the small congregation.  

The Rev. Frank Machan became the first full-time pastor in 1909.  In 1913 a new gothic-style sanctuary was built at this site to accommodate a growing congregation.  In 1914 a school was established with an enrollment of 64 students.  By 1933 the school consisted of six teachers and 170 students and the parish had grown to 300 families.  The congregation serves the community of Wallis and a number of rural communities in the area with a variety of outreach programs.  The church continues to be an important element of the area's heritage."

There is a flurry of activity going on around the grounds as it appears something fun will be happening this weekend.  I go up to the door with fingers crossed that the building will be open.  Oh yay!!!  Goodness, this is lovely.

It takes a few minutes to really notice the details.  Everything is in Czech.  How cool.  The next pic is a small area of the ceiling.

Love, love, love this stained glass window.

As we leave, we notice men unloading firewood and a huge cooking area.  Turns out this weekend is the big annual event and I think perhaps we'll try and plan our trip next year to check it out.  It's on the calendar.

A quick trip through town and a simple turn-around on a dead end brought us to a really old building.  Turns out it was the office of Dr. John Townsend Mize, M.D.  The doctor obtained his degree at the University of Nashville in TN.  He was granted the degree of Medical Doctor in 1898.  He later did his Post Graduate study at the University of Texas.  Acclamation came to him many times of which were the frequent acknowledgements of his early experiments with the use of Sulfa Drugs.  He was known to try them out on his children first, which all lived to a healthy old age.  His first office was in the Louis Grigar Pharmacy located on Main St., prior to this location.  Besides administering to the sick, he was also the medical administration for the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad and the Southern Pacific Railroad, which crossed through Wallis.  He had free boarding passes on the railroads to wherever they traveled.  For forty years, he administered to the ill and was proud of his dedication to his profession.  Dr. Mize passed on September 22, 1944.  

It just goes to show you never know what you will find with a simple turn-around.

Tummies are starting to grumble and I've located a quilt shop in Sealy, so a stop for food happens.  Mexican is the way to go today.

I walked over to Creative Threads after my  meal and you can follow what happens next in this LINK.

Upon leaving Sealy, we discover that a slight change to our route will take us through Brenham.  Of course we're changing plans.  Blue Bell is calling.  Upon our arrival, we stop in the visitor center and are told that if we hurry to the observation deck we can watch the production for another 20 minutes or so before they quit for the day.  Naturally, we go and it is so fun to watch - but no cameras allowed.  So sorry.  They were working on three different flavors in about 5 different packaging styles and it's a very well-run floor.  Once the deck closed, we had to walk through the ice cream shop to exit and one can't do that without a treat, right?  Peachy peach for me please.

Near the exit is a display that takes a few minutes and a camera to see what they've done.

Even the elevator is decorated - so fun.

Just outside the visitor center is the first refrigerated truck they used.

You might think it's pretty big until I stand by it.

I want to see the sculpture out front so walk over for a peek - 

From the back and in that light, it's hard to tell that her dress and socks are blue.  Very fun.

Back on the road and after a few non-existing breweries and quilt shops later, we are in College Station.  This time I have scored and the quilt shop is real.  Click on this LINK for a trip around this delightful shop with me.  It's WONDERFUL!

At this point, we decide it is time to use the highways again and get out little backsides to Waco before it is too late.  A couple of breweries are on the list and the first stop is at Bare Arms Brewing.

It has kind of an older bar atmosphere and is full of locals having a good time -- but one of them has a cough that is a bit worrisome so we take our drinks outside.  Before we go, we notice that they have a mug club and I really like these.  I wish more of the Dallas breweries did something like this.

I do get a chuckle out of this sign --- gotta love beer humor.

The overall experience was not that great so we are off to try another place.  This time it is Brotherwell Brewing and although they don't have food, their beer is so, so good.  The building feels like a brewery and that's a win as well.

We do need some food so a raid is made of the coolers in the car and a leftover table picnic takes place.  It'll do and I wish we could stay for more than one, but driving is still ahead.  

We've stalled the day out long enough.  Onward to home.  Here is our route for today and we've had a blast with the sights and activities.  So much fun and we still have two more vacation days at home.  That means more activity ahead.  Stay tuned y'all.